sport climbing in tahoe area. need some advice

my wife & I will be in tahoe mid july. Both of us are competent sport climbers. We are looking for a good moderate (5.11 & below) sport climbing area. This is our first trip to tahoe & we are staying in Truckee. We are from KY & do most of our climbing at the red. Any help, beta, or advice would be greatly appreciated. One big question I have is should we bring a stick clip?

I'd say there is considerably more bolted stuff around the north shore (Truckee area) than the south shore, so you're going to be in the right area.
Rock Climbs of North Tahoe
camp4press.com/guidebooks.html
Has the most comprehensive information I've seen, especially for the bolted stuff.

Someone else is going to have to help you with the stick clip question.

Your looking primarily at big chief. Its about 15-20 min away from Truckee. Their is a specific Big chief guidebook.

What time of year are you coming? If its summer, Big Chief is going to be roasting hot...especially in the afternoon.

For 5.10-5.11 sport climbing, I would argue that you should check out Luther Rock. It does get afternoon sun, but climbing in the morning to early afternoon should be great. On top of that, the climbing is very high quality (much better than BC in my opinion).

luther is a long way from truckee. search on supertopo for bowman lake. never been, but there are good sport climbs there.

Big Chief is great in the morning these days. Sun starts to come around the cliff around noon(ish), so if you can be back there early, you'll get good temps. It can get busy, but with generally cool folks, fairly overhung though the lines aren't as clean as the Red. Big Chief Area Climbs by Hajek is readily available and will get you where you're going.

thanks everyone for your advice. we will be in the are mid-july. if anyone is interested in meeting up & showing us around it would be greatly appreciated I'll buy booze & food afterward. send me an e-mail 0203gilb@gmail.com

caughtinside wrote:Some good suggestions here. Big Chief is your closest and best option. It does get hot, and that volcanic stuff feels greasy when warm. It faces due west, so its shaded till like 1? 30 min approach. I'd suggest you hit that in the morning, then siesta during the heat, and then head up to Donner Summit in the afternoon/evening. THere are a handful of sport climbs in your range around, and you can also TR a bunch of stuff with easy top access. Luther rock is another good suggestion, although it is like an 80 minute drive from Truckee. It's another morning shade spot. I'd get up early and go there, siesta in the afternoon, and then go to Mayhem cove in the afternoon when it hits the shade. Bonus is that it's on your way back to truckee. have a fun trip!

Caught's suggestions are perfect advice. I forgot about Mayhem and he is right, combining crags is a great idea. It is a bit of a drive from Truckee to Luther, but its not that far....its a closer drive than I have to do on any given weekend from Sacto. Plus I think its worth it for the climbing in South Lake.